1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for loading a recording-medium housing case (generally called a "cassette" or "jacket" and hereinafter referred to as a "cassette" in the explanation of the prior arts and the embodiments of the invention) which is used to house a disc-type recording medium such as a rotary magnetic disc. Particularly, the present invention relates to a device of this kind which has a simple and compact construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recording and/or reproducing apparatus using a recording medium, such as rotary magnetic discs, the medium is usually handled in such state that it is housed in a cassette.
In order to facilitate unloading of the cassette which has been loaded in a loading area of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, a device has been proposed to apply an ejecting force to the cassette to cause said cassette to be partly exposed from the loading area at the time of an unloading operation. This device includes a locking mechanism which acts to prevent the cassette from being ejected from said loading area by the action of the above-mentioned ejecting force at the time of insertion of the cassette. Said locking mechanism is unlocked at the time of an ejecting operation. (For example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 104755/1984 and 57565/1985).
In the conventional construction of the loading and unloading device of this type, including a cassette locking member to hold the cassette in the loading area of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, the time of unlocking the engagement of the cassette and the cassette locking member is critical and it is required to provide a stopper to restrict the position of the cassette after the cassette has been unlocked from the locking member. Furthermore, there are many restrictions in construction and/or precision of the relative position between the cassette and a cassette positioning pin and the like. In order to assure accurate loading and unloading operation, the relative position between a cover member and its locking member is restricted. Also there is a problem of restriction in space which is required to enable the operation of the locking member. Under such circumstances it has been difficult to provide a compact construction of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.